Title: Looking Into the Past For the Future
Series: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Tezuka, Momoshiro, Kaidoh, Fuji
Genre: General
Rating: G/K
Warnings: Slashy implications
Author's Notes: This ficlet was written for the potchallenge community at LiveJournal. The challenge was to write about... errr... I sort of forgot. It was either about rivalry or about Kaidoh and Monoshiro. XD Oooops.
- - - - - - - - - -
Looking into the Past for the Future
Tezuka Kunimitsu was not the sort of person who normally had regrets or was nostalgic about the past. He was the sort who lived in the present, learned from the past, and looked to the future. Despite this sort of outlook, however, he did at times find himself thinking on how things might be different, if.
Glancing over the rims of his eyeglasses as he held out a stopwatch, he watched as the regular and non-regular members of the Seigaku tennis team ran the requisite timed one mile that was part of their training. His lips quirked fractionally as he watched Momoshiro Takashi and Kaidoh Kaoru run neck to neck, each wearing a stubborn frown as one tried to surpass the other.
Tezuka didn't keep track of how many times each boy managed to pull ahead of the other, but he knew that each successful attempt resulted in either a growled hiss or a whoop of accomplishment and a fist in the air. Having been on the same team for the last two years, he also knew what would happen, if...
Beep!
"Time, for you both!" He called.
Aaand... the bickering began.
Like many other times before, Momoshiro and Kaidoh had crossed the finish line at the exact same time and predictably, the competition that had been witnessed during the mile run continued where it had left off. With a wide and saucy grin, Momoshiro accused Kaidoh of having an earlier start and Kaidoh hissed and huffed and retorted that he couldn't help it if Momoshiro was shorter, which made Momoshiro bristle and start yelling while waving his hands in the air. And of course, on and on it went with the rest of the team chuckling to themselves.
Tezuka allowed himself to heave a long-suffering sigh before he shot the pair a "Look", which earned him two apologies and earned them twenty extra laps for arguing.
As they ran their laps, their buchou took that moment to reflect on the altercation that he had just witnessed. Sometimes, he wondered if he and Fuji would be like the present-day Momoshiro and Kaidoh if they had allowed their competitive streaks to play against one another when they had first gotten to know one another. The deeper question - the question that he never really let himself muse on for very long - was did he even want such a competitive nature to come between them.
He and Fuji shared something beyond simple tennis and beyond their frequent study sessions. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but he did know that he considered the chestnut haired tensai to be someone important to him. And perhaps, that was the heart of the whole issue - that there was something between them and he didn't want to disturb whatever it was with the clashes and locked horns that so often came with fierce competition... and yet...
As he watched the two second years run their last lap - despite the earlier mile, they were both still in strong running condition and had apparently run faster than he had thought they might - Tezuka made an observation he hadn't made before.
Right there before his eyes, as Kaidoh and Momo reached the end of their last lap, they shot each other fierce grins and their eyes were like fire as they locked gazes with each other. Yes, the challenge and competition was still there, but...
Kaidoh muttered something and hissed and Momoshiro laughed and patted him on the back, which made him hiss again, though not as vehemently. Then Momoshiro really smiled - a warm and open smile that Tezuka didn't recall ever seeing before.
Despite their rivalry...
Yes... yes, there it was. Despite the rivalry, a friendship still survived.
"Tezuka?" A soft voice called to him and he started and turned around. Fuji was looking at him, a faint smile touching his lips.
"Fuji."
"You looked as if you were a million miles away." The tensai laughed quietly, still smiling.
"I was thinking."
"About?"
"... Them."
Another chuckle. "They're closer than they seem at times, aren't they?"
Tezuka was silent for a moment, then his lips quirked and his eyes lightened in color. "Yes. It would seem so."
And for a moment, they looked at each other, and in that moment, Tezuka knew the answer to the question he hadn't ever allowed himself to ask.
Someday, when we're ready, we will be each other's ultimate rival... and still be as we are today or more, Fuji, my friend...
- fine